Prototype Bonsai - World's First Bamboo Case - 5.8L

[auux]

Introducing Bonsai


Built with the environment in mind, its entire outer shell is made purely of bamboo. Eco-friendly, size, performance and elegance were the main inspiration behind Bonsai.

Aside from using bamboo, material minimalism was considered into the design. Four pieces of material complete the case (excluding fasteners and brackets).

Craftsmanship and quality are very important to us. All bamboo production is done in-house and is hand finished. Bamboo is both CNC milled and laser cut. The vent patterns are randomly generated based on Voronoi diagrams, making each case one of a kind. The idea was to mimic cells and embrace a more organic look while making each case unique in its own right.

The dimensions (excluding screw extrusions) are 5.25”x7.075”xx9.65” (WxH) or 133.5mm x 180mm x 245.5mm. The goal was to have a small footprint that doesn't extend past the base of a monitor.


Currently, it fits m-itx motherboards, itx sized (6.7") graphics card, 50mm height CPU cooler. and sfx sized PSUs.

Picture above is a real prototype. Dark banana for reference.

While it still requires a bit more fine-tuning, we hope to get some advice and comments from the community regarding our progress so far.

Thank you,

Ben Li

 

[bledha]

I must say, I think it is beautiful. Personally I have been waiting for something using wood or bamboo material implementation in the design. Good luck with future iterations @auux! Certainly the community will be keeping a close eye on this one (I know I will)!

A few questions if you don't mind:

1. Will you be offering any custom options?
2. What is the price range you are looking to hit?
3. In what region are you situated?
4. Is the bamboo sourced in a sustainable fashion?

 

[Phuncz]

Interesting concept, I like it !

 

[auux]

Thanks for your response @bledha @Phuncz I greatly appreciate the praise!

1. As I currently do all the machining myself this will definitely be an option. For instance, at the moment both side vents are randomly generated for every case.
2. The price point right now is looking at $250 and up. Depending on the volume this could drop.
3. We're located in San Francisco Bay Area, California
4. We get the bamboo from a main supplier in the West Coast region. Bamboo itself is inherently very sustainable with quick growth and lack of the need for pesticides. When I start production I will definitely look into environmental impact down the supply chain. But recently, for textile use such as clothes there are some concerns on the use of heavy chemicals to break down bamboo into fibers

 

[dumplinknet]

It's pretty. Unique. And cute.

But that aside, it's very expensive for a wooden case as opposed to high end aluminum botique cases. Not to mention, wood is a poor conductor of heat, which I doubt would be an issue (to an extent) considering the case is 50% completely ventilated.

This case design can cheaply be duplicated and made with aluminum, plexi glass, etc. But to those who must have bamboo, why not go all the way?

I appreciate the beauty of wood for a case, but for the price, there are better, cheaper, more functional alternatives.

 

[jkiejr]

unique design, is it possible to move the power button and some usbs to the front

 

[auux]

@dumplinknet I appreciate your criticism and praise. Yes there are definitely options out there that might be cheaper, smaller or more function but the goal of this project isn't to send off another design to some factory. The methods used for production are similar to your other high end aluminum products with CNC milling and laser cutting. I personally do the machining myself and each case is grain and color matched and is hand finished and sanded. Although the price is a bit steep my goal is to make this more of a craft product than a factory one.

@jkiejr Previously designs had a top mounted power button and I/O ports. Right now i like this design the most but anything can be customized or added in if interest is high.

 

[rfarmer]

I like it. There are plenty of aluminum and plexi cases already available, how many hand crafted bamboo ones do you see. Great work.

 

[Thehack]

The vent pattern looks too open, I think you should reduce the size of the vents, or increase the number of individual vents. If it is a small case people often transport it in bags and having large vents invite damage or objects getting in.

The front lines and vent cutouts can be a little be more curved. I think curving out the edges so that you embrace the organic design is a good idea.

Just my thoughts.

 

[dumplinknet]

The vent pattern looks too open, I think you should reduce the size of the vents, or increase the number of individual vents. If it is a small case people often transport it in bags and having large vents invite damage or objects getting in.

The front lines and vent cutouts can be a little be more curved. I think curving out the edges so that you embrace the organic design is a good idea.

Just my thoughts.

. This case wasn't mean transported.

 

[tinyitx]

Obviously, the key feature is the external covering material used, ie bamboo. If this is the sole selling point, I am afraid this might not be enough to attract 'enough' buyers. I think, there has to be something else or something more. Of course, I do understand this case is not intended as a mass seller but for a very niche market. Anyway, I look forward to the 'performance' part (eg cooling design).

As already mentioned, dust might be a problem for those large openings. I think, if a filter is used, it might adversely affect the look of the case, which is the main attraction. A catch-22 situation?

Ascetically, I would prefer a 'bamboo pattern' over Voronoi diagrams, making the appearance theme more consistent. Just my personal preference.

BTW, for the front panel, what are those 4 screws for? Do they serve a functional purpose of fixing something behind?
And that line on the front panel makes the whole panel looks like some locking mechanism in some sci-fi movies (eg https://www.artstation.com/artwork/gKgLm).

 

[auux]

@rfarmer thanks!

@Thehack
Glad you asked. The vent design is parametric, this is my personal taste. It's just few numbers away from generating more cells or thicker lines. Although not confirmed, i am looking for carrying bags to be included. I've taken 2 of these in my carry on during a 13 hr international flight.

@tinyitx
The cooling works pretty well as it only has positive pressure. I don't have up to date components at the moment but i'm hoping to release solid figures as soon as a ITX 2080 releases. I have a friend with a Gigabyte GTX 1080 running smoothly with no issues. An optional dust filter is a possibility and I'll keep that in mind.

The 4 screws are for holding the front panel in place. The line down the middle is actually where the 2 ends of the shell meet. The entire shell (front,back, left and right) is one solid piece with living hinges causing bends at the corners. The entire case folds open from those parting lines

 

[gunpalcyril]

I'm loving the voronoi vent pattern, any plans on making a metal version?

 

[tinyitx]

The 4 screws are for holding the front panel in place. The line down the middle is actually where the 2 ends of the shell meet. The entire shell (front,back, left and right) is one solid piece with living hinges causing bends at the corners. The entire case folds open from those parting lines

Ah, I can now make some sense of those funny looking curves around the 4 vertical edges. They are 'living hinges' that can fold and bend around. Interesting.

As the 4 vertical surfaces are one-piece, does it mean the 4 screws need to be unscrewed when one wants to access the interior, say, for replacing a component?

Since you already have a real prototype, could you, sort of, open it up and let us have a look at its guts?

Lastly, one thing I do like is its (apparent) lack of RGB.

(PS Bonsai roughly means a miniature 'garden' on a little pot. It is more a philosophical art (to convey the beauty of the nature) than a simple gardening work)

 

[23571113]

Hi auux,

very nice design and choice of materials!
As someone who toys with the idea of building a case of very similiar styling, would you mind to share some details about the construction?

E.g. how thick is the bamboo material you use?
Have you chosen the thickness based on experiments regarding structural stability or just used what was available and looked good to your eye?
Which software have you used to create the case and Voronoi diagram? I read at Thingiverse that a lot of designers utilize Autodesk Meshmixer.
Do you prefer "edgy" Voronoi patterns over more roundish ones or did you encounter designing/manufacturing limitations?
How have you achieved those round vertical edges and can you elaborate a little more on their function?
Are your base plate and lid perforated as well?
Have you thought about replacing the (3D-printed?) IO brackets with laser cut bamboo for a more uniform look?
Any pictures from the inside of the case?

Great work, keep it up!

 

[auux]

@gunpalcyril
A metal version will probably be down the line. Revisions and improvements are to be expected and I will consider a metal version after things are set.

@tinyitx
Yes the 4 screws need to be unscrewed for access. I will probably upload pics of the internal soon. I'm in the middle of making the updated model in the renders.

Thanks! I too am not a huge fan of RGBs. Takes away from a lot of the case in my opinion.

@23571113
Sure, I have a single piece aluminum frame that holds all the components and all of the exterior shell. The top and bottom plates are 0.25" thick and has supports and braces milled in. The shell (front, right, back and left side) is a 24" x 9.4" piece of bamboo that is 0.125" thick and is laser cut with minor CNC milling. The thickness was chosen for structural stability and availability. If you're using bamboo single ply 0.125" is much more rigid than multiply. Single ply is harder to find though.

The rounded edges on the corners are called living hinges. There's a lot of information on them online. I've made my own formula to optimize living hinges based on material properties and that took quite a while. My design promotes flexibility and durability. They don't have any structural functions (load) except for being a hinge.

The voronoi diagrams are made with a custom script so I can pump up multiple versions at a time. I've made both edgy and filleted versions but I've come to like the edgy more. That can always change. Also I assumed if I were to ever just CNC mill the voronoi diagrams the min radius would be my tooling anyways.

The software i use is Fusion 360 including the CAD and CAM. The top and bottom plates have ventilation holes.

Yes i'm currently using custom cutout for my I/O ports. I will probably offer that as a custom option for anyone that requests. See picture below.

Inside pictures are coming soon, doing some revisions so I'm limiting real pictures until I finish the new one.

Thanks for the compliments and good luck with your project!

 

[ZedSamSplat]

Where would we order the case?

 

[Weredawg]

I love the idea of wood being used in cases. I remember you @auux when you tried to launch a very similar all wood case years back as the Phantom One system. I was even planning on checking it out in person before I moved across the country from San Francisco to NC. Glad to see the idea hasn't completely died and that you went from trying to sell a full system build to just the case instead.